US troops have questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for three American soldiers feared captured by al-Qaeda during a deadly weekend ambush south of Baghdad, the US military said this afternoon. Undoubtedly, some of those being questioned are uninvolved and will be mistreated, hardening their own anti-American feelings and further inflaming the conflagration.
With more than 3,300 US troops dead and 24,000 injured, an untold number of Iraqis killed, the vast majority of both Sunni and Shia opposed to the occupation and most Americans wanting a quick exit, it’s way past time for a real plan to bring the troops home. Since the politicians are still waffling and disaster in the field won’t dissuade the White House from bumbling on, antiwar pressure is needed more than ever.
Students, despite an unfair apathetic rep among sectors of the left, have been in the forefront of working against the war since its beginning. Now our friends at Campus Progress Action are providing material support and training to antiwar students during Iraq Action Camp week. Students can go to Washington, DC from June 10 to 14 for five days of training, campfires, lobbying, networking and parties.
There’ll be seminars with organizers from MoveOn, Democracy Matters, the United States Student Association and Campus Progress Action detailing what a good campaign can look like, how to best work with the media and what lobbying tactics can be most effective and why. It’s all free, including food and camping, if desired, at Greenbelt Park, Maryland. Travel scholarships to get to DC are also available. Then, after the week, attendees will be able to apply for grant money to seed antiwar projects on college campuses and in local communities coast to coast.
The Iraq Action Camp is the latest piece of Campus Progress’ Iraq Campaign which “works to halt the escalation, bring a prompt resolution to the conflict, reduce violence and suffering in Iraq, bring our troops home, and build greater peace and security for the United States and the world.” Click here to apply for the camp and check out what else the Campaign is doing. [Full disclosure: Campus Progress also partners with The Nation on an annual student journalism conference and supplies a few articles each week to StudentNation for re-posting.]
Finally, watch this short YouTube video to see the impetus behind the Iraq Action Camp.
